


Beach

by Liza1031



Series: Harringrove One-Shots [65]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bullied child, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Harrington-Hargrove Child(ren), Harrington-Hargrove Family, Heavy Angst, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Husbands, Implied Mpreg, Kid Fic, Love, M/M, Marriage, Parents Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, School, Soft Billy Hargrove
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28705527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza1031/pseuds/Liza1031
Summary: Steve and Billy fight for their daughter’s rights to her education.One-shot based on the song Beach by the artist Axel Flovent.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper
Series: Harringrove One-Shots [65]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987054
Kudos: 9





	Beach

Steve and Billy were at the park enjoying the beautiful Saturday afternoon together with their girls. They lived in the suburbs of Chicago and have been for the last eight years because that’s where they decided they wanted to raise their family. The city was too loud and too much for them so they purchased a house not too far away and have been living here ever since.

They share two beautiful girls together. Their seven year old, Peyton and three year old Mackenzie.

Peyton, being their oldest, was off playing with some of her friends from school and around the neighborhood, while Mackenzie was on the playground running all over the place her parents keeping an eye on her.

“Momma! Momma! wook!” Mackenzie was standing on top of the blue slide, shouting for her mother to watch her go down for the hundredth time.

Steve looks up and smiles at her with his hand over his eyes, blocking the sun from his sight.

Mackenzie slides down, giggling the whole time and Steve catches her in his arms.

“Wooh, you came down fast, Kenz So cool.”

“Again, momma! Again!”

“Okay, again, again.” Steve sighs and pats her bum as she runs back up the stairs to get to the top of the slide.

“Careful, Kenz.” Billy warned from where he stood at the bottom next to his husband. They both kept their eyes on her to make sure she didn’t fall and get hurt.

As Mackenzie was about to slide down yet again, Peyton came running to her parents sobbing, face red and blotchy from all her crying.

“Daddy!” Billy looks up and sees his baby running towards him, clearly upset. “Daddy!” She ran right into his arms and he picked her up, holding her to his chest. “Daddy.” She whimpers.

“Wha’baby? What happened?” He asks and strokes her back.

She couldn’t even speak from how much she was crying so he walked over to a bench with her while Steve got Mackenzie and joined them.

“Shh, shh.” Billy soothed as she cried into his neck. “Tell me what happened, baby.”

Peyton lifts her head and points over to the kids she was playing with, Billy recognized some but others he didn’t.

“T-T-They w-were saying m-mean th-things a-about yo-you and-and momma and-and-and” She hiccups and continues to cry as it clearly bothered her. “...t-told me-me y-you g-gonna bring me-me back to th-the ba-bad place.” Billy’s blood was boiling, searing under his skin.

“Okay baby, shh.” He rubs her back then decides to hand her over to Steve. “Here, go see momma.” Peyton leaves his lap and curls up next to Steve while Billy gets up ready to go confront whoever’s parent was telling their daughter all this bullshit.

“Babe, don’t.” Steve tries but Billy is already off, marching his ass over to the kids and their parents.

“‘Scuse me.” Billy taps on the man’s shoulder and he turns around, raising his eyebrow.

“Can I help you?” He asks.

“Yeah. I’d like your kid to apologize to my daughter for what he said to her about our family!”

“Oh the faggots huh?” The man snickers and Billy’s stood there getting even more livid. “I ain’t telling my kid to apologize for telling the truth. Sorry.” He shrugs acting like a complete asshole.

“Look, just make him apologize and we can all go home.” Billy urges, trying to stay calm because there are kids around but this dude was pushing his buttons.

“I’m not making him do anything.” He gives Billy a shove but Billy doesn’t make a move yet, trying to contain himself. “It’s not his fault you and your faggot husband are even allowed to have kids, spreading your gay bullshit all over the place and-” Billy decked him in the face and before they knew, they were both getting extremely physical.

“Billy!” Steve shouts and runs over with the girls at his sides, seeing their father and this man fight. “Billy, stop! There are children around!”

Billy couldn’t hear him and just kept going until he was pulled off by a stranger, causing the two men to separate from each other.

The cops showed up and Steve’s anxiety was through the roof because the last thing he needed was to bail his husband out of jail for another fight. Billy already had his fair share of being arrested in college from bar fights with people being a little too handsy with Steve.

Billy goes off with one of the cops to make a statement along with some other people, leaving Steve to tend to his girls.

“Hey.” Steve turns and sees one of his neighbors behind him, holding her daughter’s hand. “You guys need anything?” She asks.

“Uh, no, we’re good...I think.” Steve was shaken up and kept looking around because he just couldn’t focus, this is what his anxiety does to him, makes him crazy. “Um.” He hoists Mackenzie up on his hip and seems lost.

“Here, why don’t I take the girls to get some ice cream and let you get yourself together.” She offers, holding out her hand towards Mackenzie.  
“Okay.” He hands his daughters over and thanks his friend before she walks off to the other side of the park while he joins his husband.

It took almost two hours to get statements from everyone who was present but luckily, no one pressed charges because they all saw the other guy put his hands on Billy first. Neither Steve or Billy wanted to press charges either because they just wanted to go home and forget about everything that happened.

After their long afternoon at the park, the family of four finally return home.

Steve carried his sleeping daughter up to her room and got her under the covers in her bed. He kissed her forehead and left her to take her nap.

He goes into their bedroom and finds his husband on the bed, pressing an ice pack on his face where he was sporting a new shiner thanks to that asshole at the park.

“C’mon macho man. Let's get you cleaned up.” Steve takes Billy into their bathroom and has him sit on the toilet so that he can clean his husband’s cuts and the dirt off his face.

“I’m sorry, babe.” Billy sighs then hisses as Steve cleans out one of his cuts with peroxide. “I wasn’t thinking and I just-”

“-You’re right. You weren’t thinking. You never think when you get angry, I’ve just dealt with it all these years so I’m not phased. But in front of Peyton and Mackenzie, you need to control yourself Billy.”

“I know.” Billy rolls his eyes because he knew his husband was right. “It’s just, how can people be so cruel and teach their kids to be cruel like them. I can’t imagine Peyton ever telling another kid that, let alone even having enough courage to do it. She’d never hurt a fly, then here I am, ready to kill whoever gets in my way.”

“I know, Billy, believe I know. You don’t think I feel the same way when I hear people say things under their breath or make it obvious that they don’t approve of us and our family. It kills me just as much as it kills you but we can’t let our kids see as weak. They need to know we’re strong and can stand up for ourselves no matter how hard it may seem, we can’t let them see us like this.”

Billy doesn’t say anything and just sits still while Steve gets butterfly bandages to put over his eyebrow. He lets out a heavy sigh through his nose and perks up when he hears the floor crack outside their bathroom.

Billy glances up and sees Peyton lurking outside the door, watching her daddy get fixed up.

“Hey princess. C’mere.” Billy holds out his non bloody and bruised hand to her, noticing her frown. She grabs it and walks closer to him. “What’s wrong, baby?” He asks and tilts her chin up towards him.

“Y-you got hurt b-because of me. I-I’m sorry.”

“Oh sweetheart. There’s no need to be sorry. I’ll walk through fire and move heaven and earth for you. You’re my daughter, I’m supposed to protect you.” He tells her and wipes her tears with him thumbs. “Look, if someone ever gives you a hard time or puts their hands on you, you have my permission to push them back. But if you don’t feel like doing that, then tell an adult and mommy and daddy will take care of it okay?”

“Okay.” She nods her head then wraps her arms around his neck, giving him a comforting hug.

Once Billy was taken care of, the three of them went down to their living room and sat together on the couch.

“So, what should we do for dinner?” Steve asks. “I don’t really feel like cooking either.”

“Hmm how about pizza?” Billy suggests.

Peyton’s face lights up. “Yeah! Can we get pizza momma?”

“I’m down.” Steve shrugs and goes to get a menu from the drawer in their kitchen. “Let’s see what we should get this time.”

They have this tradition, if you wanna call it, where whenever they order food, they always try something different. Whether it's good or bad, they’ll get it but will also get a safe food just in case they don’t like it. The girls found it interesting but Peyton was more adventurous about trying new things while Mackenzie was fine with her plain cheese.

So, Steve orders two pizzas. One large cheese as their safe food and one large Chicken Ranch with two liters of soda to go along with their dinner. It was their lazy night home so mine as well enjoy it while they can.

By the time Mackenzie woke up, the pizza had arrived so Steve went to go get the plates, cups, and napkins while Billy went to retrieve their daughter from her room.

“Hey Kenz, how was your nap?” Billy asks, picking her up from her bed.

“I hungy daddy.”

“Well then let’s get some pizza in you.” He tickles her belly and she giggles in his arms as they head downstairs.

When they rounded the corner to the kitchen, Peyton was already at the table with her pizza on her plate and Steve was getting his own so Billy served himself and their other daughter.

“Momma got cheese for you.” He tells her, putting a slice onto her plate. “Go bring it to the table and have him cut it up okay?” Mackenzie nods and carries her food with her to the table, climbing onto one of the chairs next to Steve.

Billy loads three slices onto his plate and grabs the red pepper flakes before joining his family at the table.

The four of them eat their pizza together and were acting as if nothing even happened earlier. The girls seemed to ignore that Billy’s face was cut up and bruised and just saw their daddy fooling around with his food, like he always does.

After dinner, they resorted to the living room and decided to put on a movie before they all went to bed. Steve was braiding Peyton’s hair while Mackenzie was twirling Billy’s curls in her small fingers, invested in the Disney movie that was on.

Everyone was content and that was all Steve wanted.

**-Two Weeks Later-**

Billy and Steve have been through hell these last two weeks. After everything that happened at the park, they hoped it would just go away but it wasn’t going anywhere because Peyton came home from school crying about the older kids picking on her.

Everyday, Peyton would come home in tears not wanting to go back to school which obviously put them in a tough position because on one hand she needs her education, but on the other hand they don’t want to send her back and can’t transfer her since the year is already almost done. So they’re stuck in the middle.

It breaks her parents hearts having their daughter so distraught, especially Billy. He wants to do everything in his power to take all the bad things away for his daughter to be happy but he can’t. It really hurts him that he can’t do much except fight for his baby and protect her as much as he could.

They decided to have a meeting with Peyton’s principal and teacher to see how they can prevent this from happening more, things have been escalating in her second grade class with some of the students still picking on her and even the older kids at lunch making fun of her. But the meeting wasn’t going as well as they’d hoped.

“...So basically what you’re saying is that our daughter has to put up with this type of behavior because you refuse to punish the students who’s been tormenting and harassing her?” Billy could barely sit in his seat and wanted to slap the principal right across his face.

“Mr. Harrington-Hargrove, I told you, they will get a warning. I’m sorry but since none of our staff saw it, there’s not much we can do.”

“Bullshit!”

“Billy.” Steve warns and watches his husband contain himself.

“Mr. Silto, I’m not sure you understand what we’ve been through in the past almost ten years. I know people aren’t always accepting but we want what every parent wants for their child. We want them to feel safe, loved, and get an education so they can be successful in life. My daughter has been coming home everyday, begging us to not send her back, do you know how hard that is?”

“I don’t. I’m sorry but school policy states that students need to be given a warning first then if it continues, other forms of punishment will be put into action. I can’t change school policy and that’s how it is.”

“Well, thank you for wasting our time.” Billy huffs and gets up with his husband.

The two of them walk out of his office and are followed by the vice principal.

“Mr. Harrington-Hargrove!” She calls after them.

“What?” Billy asks, already pissed with the staff at this school.

“I’m sorry that this is happening to Peyton. Principal Silto is not liked by many parents so I understand your frustration. Look, I know you’re in a tough predicament right now so maybe keep Peyton out of school for a few days just you guys can figure something out. I’ll do everything I can and I know it’s not much but I am on your side. I will fight for Peyton as much as I can, but if it’s not up to his standards, there isn’t more I can do.”

“Well thank you for that.” Billy tells her and watches her smile. “My husband will discuss what the next steps are from here regarding Peyton and whether or not she’ll be attending this school much longer.”

“Very well.” She bows his head and pulls out a business card from one of the folders she was carrying. “This has my cell and email on it, if you have any questions or need work for Peyton, let me know.”

“Thank you.” Steve takes the card and they say their goodbyes before walking out of the school, back to his SUV.

Over the next few days, both men lose sleep because they’re so stressed about this. They’re unsure of what’s even going to happen because they don’t want their daughter to be somewhere she feels unsafe and unwelcome but she needs her education and they think it’s unfair that they’re depriving her of it.

Pretty much their whole family is distraught over this and both Billy and Steve feel they’re to blame that their daughter can’t even handle being at school because of the other students who bully her for having gay parents.

They decide to take a break and drive to Hawkins for a long weekend.

**\---**

When they pulled up to Joyce’s house, it was a little past 6:30PM. Billy went a tad over the speed limit on the highway because he just wanted to get out of Chicago and back home to the place that’s grown on him since he was seventeen.

He killed the engine of the SUV and got out with his husband stretching after the hours of being confined to one seat.

The front door of the house opens and all their friends and family come out to greet them. Everyone was smiling and it felt great to see some familiar faces for a change. They’ve been in Chicago, alone, for a while, so it was always nice to come back and catch up, even if they were desperate for help.

As soon as Billy saw his sister, he gathered her in his arms and held back his tears because he so badly wanted to break down.

“You okay?” Max asks into his neck.

“Yeah.” He sighs.

She knew he was putting on an act but didn’t question him and just let him be until he came to her.

They give hugs all around then get their sleeping beauties out from the backseat. They carry them inside and wake them up to eat since Joyce had made a big dinner knowing they were coming down.

Once everyone was fed, the girls went into the living room with Will and Dustin while Billy and Steve were sitting at Joyce’s table with Hopper and Max, drinking coffee.

The two parents needed guidance. They needed to know what they should do now regarding their daughters and their future with school.

Of course, everyone was shocked when they heard about the park incident, but they were even more upset to hear about what’s been happening to Peyton at school. They all love the little girl, she’s the first granddaughter and niece in that family, so to say they were upset was rather an understatement.

“I honestly think you two should take it to the Board of Ed.” Joyce says, sipping her coffee.

“That’s what we were thinking but what if they don’t give us the time of day because we’re gay?” Steve asks and sees all their faces fall.

“Well I think they’d be stupid to do that.” Max comments. “You have every right to fight for Peyton’s education, even Kenzie’s when she’s in school. They deserve to go and make friends and be normal.”

“I know, it’s just.” Steve sighs and rubs his face. “I wish this would all go away.”

“I know you do honey but we’re all here for you.” Joyce tells him, setting her hand on top of his, comfortingly.

Steve talks for a little while longer then declares he's tired, so he makes his way to the guest room where Peyton and Mackenzie were already passed out cold in the bed. He climbs in next to them and falls asleep right away.

Max and Dustin had left, Will went to bed, as did Joyce, so it was just Billy and Hopper left.

They resorted out to the front porch and sat on the steps, smoking and drinking. Billy hasn’t had a cigarette in a while but when he’s stressed he needs some sort of relief. He needed some advice from the one person who’s been like a father figure to him, unlike his biological father. He thought he was able to hold himself over but he just broke and started to sob into his hands.

“What am I gonna do, Hop?” Billy was distraught, to say the least. “I-I feel like such a fucking failure!”

“Hey, stop!” Hopper puts his cigarette out and gathers Billy in his arms, holding the younger man to him.

“I can’t even protect my own fucking daughter from those monsters at school! I failed as a father!” Billy sobs and just can’t find it in himself to stop.

“That’s not true, Billy.” It breaks Hopper’s heart seeing the poor kid so upset for his daughter. “Do you love your daughters?”

“Y-Yes.” Billy mumbles.

“And will you do anything for them?”

“Yes.”

They pull away and Hopper rubs Billy’s back. “Okay, so then you’re not a bad father, you’re a great one, Billy. Your daughters are so lucky to have you as their dad because they know how much you love them and how much they love you.”

“It just sucks, man y’know?”

“I can imagine.” Hop takes a swig of his drink, looking out at the yard ahead of them. “Look, from what I can see you and Steve are doing a great job raising those girls. Y’know when I saw you holding Peyton when she was born, I knew you were nervous.”

Billy chuckles. “Was it that obvious?”

“A bit. But then I saw how confident you were that you were gonna be the best dad ever to her. You were gonna never let anything get in her way and was gonna make sure she lived a good life. Watching you go from an asshole teenager to a responsible, loving father was probably the most heartwarming thing ever, to me.” Hopper holds his hand to his chest as the two reminisce back to that day. “I’m proud of you, Billy, both of you, you two have grown up so much and are the best parents to them. Your girls are lucky to have you both in their lives.”

“Thanks, Hop.” Billy flashes a slight smile and Hopper pats his back, in a fatherly manner.

“Anytime, kid.” He takes another swig of his drink then burps, excusing himself. “So, how have my girls been doing otherwise?”

“Oh god, they’re crazy.” Billy groans and they both laugh as he starts to talk about his daughters to Hopper and what they’ve been up to.

Around 2AM, Billy turned in for the night and headed to the guest bedroom, joining his husband and daughters in bed.

“I love you.” He tells them, giving them each a kiss before lying down.

“I love you too, daddy.” Peyton whispers and cuddles up to him, which puts a smile on his face.

**\---**

Their weekend away from home felt good but it was back to reality for them. Steve and Billy were at work, Peyton was at school and Mackenzie was at daycare.

The day was good so far, everything seemed fine and nothing happened.

That was until Peyton came home from school in tears yet again.

Steve worked a half day and picked up Mackenzie early, so he was home.

He was waiting for Peyton to be dismissed because he was going to pick her up today instead of having her take the bus. He stood by the doors with the rest of the parents, waiting for their kids as well.

When the doors open, a teacher comes out with a walkie and dismisses everyone by grade. Peyton’s grade is dismissed after ten minutes and she runs into Steve’s arms, crying.

“What happened? What’s the matter?” He asked and some of her friends’ parents all came over to see what was wrong.

“T-They pushed me-me on the pl-playground.” Peyton holds out her arm and shows Steve the fresh forming bruise that she didn’t have that morning.

“Oh my god.” He gasps and pulls her back into his arms, squeezing her tight. “Who did this to you baby?”

She doesn’t answer and just cries to her mother.

Steve was pissed but didn’t want to cause a scene so he just takes his girls home, furious with the staff at the school for letting this happen. He called the principal and gave him an earful then called the vice principal, speaking to her more calmly about what happened to Peyton.

Billy came home and was informed of what happened after finding his husband looking like he was ready to murder someone.

They were both angry that this happened and sat on their back patio watching their girls play on the enclosed trampoline.

“What are we gonna do, Steve?” Billy asks.

“Well babe, we’re gonna have to take it to the Board of Ed.” Steve says, leaning into his husband’s side. “We need to get this fixed because I can’t stand to see my baby so upset everyday. She deserves to be happy like every other kid in the world.”

“I know.” Billy presses a kiss to Steve’s head and holds him for a while, watching their girls play and have fun.

**\---**

After that day, Billy and Steve decided to take matters into their own hands and went to one of the Board of Ed meetings held at a middle school in town. If they were gonna fight, they’re gonna fight the right way and not take no for an answer.

Steve and Billy were nervous to approach the people on the board but they dressed appropriately and wanted to make a good impression for their case. Even if it meant they had to fake how they really were.

**(A/N: I have no idea how these things really go down so I’m doing it this way.)**

Time passed and eventually, their case was called to order.

“Uh, next we have the Harrington-Hargrove party.” The superintendent speaks into the microphone. “Please come forward.”

Steve and Billy walk up the podium and both take a deep breath because neither of them liked speaking in front of people, they were both sweating bullets reciting their wedding vows, so one can only imagine how they felt doing this.

“Good evening everyone. My name is Steve Harrington-Hargrove, this is my...husband, Billy Harrington-Hargrove and we’re coming here today to express our concerns about what’s been happening at Depolla Elementary School.”

All their heads lift and give them their full attention.

“Our daughter, Peyton, has been coming home for weeks crying about these kids at school taunting her, making fun of her, bullying her all because she has a “different” homelife.” Steve air quotes as he continues to explain the situation. “Sure our kids have two guys as their parents but it isn’t any different than having a mom and a dad, or two moms, or a single mom or dad. We love our daughters very much. They’re our whole life, the air we breathe, we breathe for them so you have to imagine how difficult it’s been for my family to have to go through this all because of a hateful act displayed by one of your very own students.

My daughter came home with a bruise on her arm because some kid pushed her on the playground and no one did anything for it except give the kid a warning. A warning is only going to make them want to continue to pick on others for no reason. Peyton is such a smart little girl and always has everyone’s best interest at heart so how do you think it makes us feel when she comes home crying, asking why those kids at her school pick on her just because we’re her parents?

I’m not asking for your pity, what I am asking is that a zero tolerance bullying rule be enforced in all the schools so that kids like my daughter shouldn’t have to worry about going to school afraid that someone is going to physically or verbally hurt her. She deserves to have an education just like every other child at that school, she deserves to feel safe when she’s not with us, we’re putting her in your care for those seven and a half hours every day. It’s not easy having to keep her from her friends in fear that something worse may happen. Please just do something to make our kids feel safe in school, to make sure they know their feelings are valid and to not be afraid to be themselves, that’s what makes them so special. Their display of character and uniqueness they all exhibit and I know my daughter will always wear her heart on her sleeve because that's how my husband has raised her. To be kind, caring, sweet, and forgiving. Don’t take that away from a little girl like her. Thank you.”

The superintendent writes down some notes before speaking. “Mr. Harrington-Hargrove, first I’d like to deeply and sincerely apologize for what happened to your daughter. I know what’s been done can’t be taken back but I hope we can move forward in a positive and much needed way. I admire your bravery and courage for coming up in front of us with your husband to share the issue as it has gotten worse over time. I’ve heard all I needed to hear to come to the decision that those two kids who’ve been harassing your daughter are to be expelled from Depolla Elementary School immediately and though it may not be enough, they will be required to provide a sincere letter of apology to you and your family.” The superintendent spoke, looking around at her colleagues who all gave her a slight nod of approval. “The zero tolerance bullying will be put into motion right and all students as well as staff will be required to follow it, making sure they understand the depth of this rule and how it’ll affect their school life hopefully in a better way. I want to thank you, both of you, Mr and Mr. Harrington-Hargrove for bringing this to our attention. I wish you both the best of luck and as for your daughter, I wish her well and hope that she’s back in school Monday morning, eager to learn from what I hear.”

“Thank you for listening and for your kind words. It’s greatly appreciated.”

“Thank you both for bringing this to our attention.” She says with a smile. “I will be sure to take care of this right away.”

Everyone claps for them and Steve smiles as relief washes over him. He hugs his husband and cries tears of joy knowing they won their case. They were able to send their daughter to school without fearing something was going to happen to her. It’s what Peyton deserves.

After all that they’ve been through, the family of four were settled in Steve and Billy’s bed.

Steve was cuddling Kenzie while Billy was cuddling Peyton, both finally able to relax after these hellish weeks they’ve had for the last two months. They were talking to their girls about life, you know what they needed to hear and understand.

“...It’s hard sometimes, girls. It’s not easy for anyone and some people are unhappy with their lives which means they need help or need to talk to someone, so they shouldn't be ashamed to ask for it. But we never want you two to be unhappy. Even though everyone gets upset and mad sometimes, that’s okay, but you have two parents who love you more than anything and will do everything for you.” Steve tells his babies as they both quietly listen.

“You girls are mine and momma’s entire universe so we always want to see you happy because we love you both so much.”

“We love you too, daddy.” Peyton says.

“Yeah, wove you daddy.” Mackenzie adds.

Billy is engulfed in a hug from his hugs and Steve joins in, embracing all their love and cuteness.

They all go back to cuddling together while watching a movie that was on.

While the girls were invested in the movie, Steve and Billy both look over at each and smile. They share a kiss over their girls’ heads and whisper ‘I love you’s’ to each other then kiss their girls again and continue to cuddle together.


End file.
